Ounce for ounce, agave is about 1.5 times sweeter than sugar. But agave comes with other more important benefits: color, liquidity, and viscosity. It’s a powerful tool for the home bartender. As a substitute for simple syrup, it gives you that deep color, a texture that is so noticable, and a flavor suggesting whiffs of smoke. The only thing you have to fear about agave is using too much. A little, an ounce or two, can have enormous impact.
This cocktail has a mystery ingredient: pomegranate molasses. That’s “sweet” too but quite honestly I find the pomegranate flavor both wonderful and so intense that sweetness is lost in that forward pomegranate bite. So, the agave is invoked to balance one kind of sweetness with another.
The color here is golden. The citrus level is high. And the sweetness coaxes you to contemplate each gulp.
Fine on its own, you might pair this beverage off with just a touch of blue cheese, something that can bite back. Brie, you might ask? No, this drink will steamroller any brie flavors. This brew is formidable, from start to finish.
Brian’s Agave Citrus Gold
Yield: 2 generous cocktails
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces tequila
- 4 ounces triple sec
- 4 ounces lemon juice
- 2 ounces agave
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
Preparation:
Combine the ingredients in an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake until well chilled. Serve in glasses filled with ice.
Source: Brian O’Rourke
Photo Information: Canon T2i, EFS 60mm Macro Lens, F/4.5 for1/40th second at ISO 3200